Scholarships won through writing, are they reported as income?
John: It depends on whether the scholarship is a prize or if the writing is just to qualify. There are some variables here that I would need to know to give a definitive answer. caq: How do you go about estimating what your taxes will be if you have no idea how much you will make? I always overestimated when I did the desktop publishing. John: I have been in this business 34 years. Estimating future income has always been more of a SWAG than anything else. You know what a SWAG is? A Scientific Wild Ass Guess! caq: Is there any way around the quarterly payments? Are they quarterly or month-wise? You pay before you have even made the money. John: Predicting income is difficult, but it is better to overestimate than to be under. Too many penalties. The basic rule for estimated taxes is to have as much tax paid in throughout the year as your prior year tax. Technically, you are supposed have at least 90% paid in. The 100% of prior tax is just a safe harbor to avoid penalty. You can owe ano
